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Hollandaise Charlotte

A chilled chocolate and cream mousse set in a molded form.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Hollandaise Charlotte

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Line a plain round mold with parchment paper.

Make the mixture

  1. Dissolve the chocolate and sugar in the milk over low heat.

  2. Add the gelatin and stir until melted, then remove from heat and let cool.

  3. Whisk the cream until stiff peaks form.

  4. Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream until it begins to set.

Set

  1. Pour the mixture into the lined mold and refrigerate until firm.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Cream + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  4. Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Vanilla and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cream
Whipped to stiff peaks, it gives the charlotte its light, airy texture.
Gelatin
Sets the mixture so it holds its shape when chilled and unmolded.
Chocolate
Provides the main flavor and firms the mixture slightly as it cools.
Milk
Dissolves the chocolate and sugar and forms the liquid base of the mixture.
Sugar
Sweetens the mixture and helps dissolve the chocolate into the milk.

The step that matters

Folding the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream. If the chocolate mixture is too warm or too cold, or is folded in roughly, the whipped cream will deflate or clump. Stop folding once it begins to set so the mixture keeps its airy structure.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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